What if the childhood you remember isn’t really what happened at all?
From the acclaimed author of An Unthinkable Thing and Hideaway, a breath-stopping novel of suspense about a woman tormented by memories of the past and threatened by long-held secrets in the present.
Molly Wynters has moved back to her small hometown to care for her father, recently felled by a stroke and no longer able to communicate. She is ready to make a fresh start with her son after her divorce, but is haunted by both old events and new realities in her childhood home.
What Molly recalls of her young life with her father is full of love and care, even though a violent trauma defined her when she was a young girl, she witnessed her mother’s murder, and her testimony – “There was a man downstairs” – sent a teenager to prison. This tragic episode is still very much alive in the culture of the town, and the more Molly remembers, the more she fears that what she said on the stand all those years ago might not have been the whole truth.
After Molly, a trained therapist, volunteers for a local helpline, the threats begin. At first they seem random, but soon Molly realizes that she is a target, and even those closest to her seem suspicious, especially as unsuspected links between them emerge. More than one life was destroyed on that horrific long-ago day, and now someone intends to hold Molly accountable.
With its gripping descent into the shadowy corners of the human psyche A Man Downstairs is both an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride and a masterful exploration of the fragile nature of memory.
My Thoughts…
Thank you Libro.fm for the gifted ALC for review considerations. All opinions expressed here are mine alone.
What to Expect:
🔪 Troubled relationships
🔪 A nameless character
🔪 Unglamorized sexual experiences
🔪 Dark and disturbing
🔪 Multi-layered mystery
🔪 Slow burn
🫶 What worked for me…
Wow, listening to “A Man Downstairs” was a wild ride! It is a multi-layered and deeply disturbing story. You will slowly peel back each character’s POV and fit them together into a nice box of entertainment. Although fictional, you get a raw glimpse at prescription and street drug addictions and their effects on relationships, different social and economic classes, living with severe mental illnesses, and the unglamorized sexual experiences, all the while trying to figure out who really murdered the lunch lady.
🤷♀️ What didn’t work for me…
“A Man Downstairs” is a bona fide slow burn. I’m not a huge fan of slow-burn stories, and I’m very particular in determining my personal enjoyment of them. Ultimately, I need to have my attention sustained throughout, and unfortunately, there are some dull moments. However, I mentioned earlier that this story is multi-layered, and I personally believe the length is required to tell the full story.
🤔 Would I recommend it…
I certainly would recommend this book! The audiobook version was great, with voices matching the tone of the characters. Just buckle down for a long but satisfying twist of a story.
⚠️ Trigger warnings…
Murder, Suicide, Mental Illness, Adult/Minor relationships, Stalking, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
* If you would like to listen to “A Man Downstairs” please click here. As a libro.fm affiliate I may earn from qualifying purchases
Page Turning Thrills 